Airlines and the Cabin Crew

Cabin crew is on an aircraft for SAFETY reasons. Legally they are on board in the highly unlikely event of there being an accident, to usher passengers to safety. It is their duty to give safety announcements before a flight, or ensure that these announcements are given out on a video. They also ensure the safety of passengers by checking seat belts are fastened, and that hand luggage is secure. During the flight they may serve food and drink and sell duty-free goods. See the www.aviation-training.org Web site for more on cabin safety.

British Airways (BA), say cabin crew, is responsible for delivering the service experienced by customers in our aircraft cabins. Probably no other area within British Airways, or any other airline, has been subject to greater stereotyping and misperception. Some of this is down to the popularity of air travel. People see our cabin crew in action, often when they are relaxed or on holiday, and form an immediate impression of what they think the job involves. In fact, the customer sees only a fraction of what goes on in order to make each flight a success. What's more, whilst the cabin crew on board our aircraft form the largest part of cabin services, there are many other specialists supporting and driving this vital function.'

So cabin crew is the visible tip of an iceberg, with support services forming the hidden eight-ninths.



The first airline to employ cabin crew on a regular basis was probably the American airline Pan Am. Since then, it has become one of the most popular 'wish' jobs.

Employers

There are two main types of airlines: scheduled and charter. Both require crews. Some private planes also employ their own cabin crew. Scheduled airlines such as BA, British Midland, Buzz, Go, United Airlines, KLM, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, etc. operate a variety of routes and publish their timetables in a schedule.

Charter carriers such as Air 2000, Monarch, Britannia, etc. can belong to a tour operator, or hire their aircraft to an operator. Tour operators may take up all the aircraft's seats for their package holidays, or split the seat allocation between package holiday passengers and 'seat only' sales. Or an airline may split the seats in aircraft between two or more operators.

Many Gulf airlines employ European staff. Emirates, which consistently win awards from travellers and magazines, employ the best from around the world. They have 48 different nationalities among their flight crew.

Qualifications

Most airlines have specific requirements for people applying for jobs as cabin crew:

• The right to live and work in the country where you will be based.
  
  
• Minimum age generally 20+.
  
  
• Excellent health and good eyesight but contact lenses usually accepted.
  
  
• Height generally from 5 feet 2 inches to 6 feet 2incles in (1.57m-1.87m) with weight in proportion.
  
  
• MUST be able to swim - this is a legal requirement in case a plane has to ditch over water.
  
  
• Good standard of general education.
  
  
• Clear speech and good spoken English.
  
  
• Customer service experience.
  
  
• Passport that can be validated for travel to all countries covered by an airline's routes.
  
  
• Car driver and owner or have means of 24-hour transport to base.
  

Languages: don't even think of applying to a European airline unless you speak English plus the airline's language fluently. On Crossair they expect you to speak English, French, German, Italian is just for starters. Once BA was considered a joke, with its attitude of 'if you don't speak English we can't be bothered to communicate'. In the 'old' days I frequently found myself translating for bewildered passengers who found the BA crew didn't speak their language. BA's Putting People First campaign changed that; on a recent flight between Heathrow and Miami an announcement in excellent German came over the speakers. Many Germans find it cheaper to fly to London and then transfer to a Miami flight, so on this particular route BA make sure some of the crew speak German. Now it is difficult to find a job with BA unless you speak another language. If you can produce sign language, that is extremely useful.

What makes a good crew stand out? 'Personal appearance and manners with patience are vital', says Daniel Clarke of BA. 'Health is also vital and plenty of sleep.'

NB. Staff on some of the low-cost, no-frills airline gives safety announcements, sell refreshments, and then on arrival, when the passengers have left the plane, they clean the aircraft.

How to apply

There is tremendous competition for jobs, so you need to take care over your application. Before you even start the long process, make sure you have the legal right to work for an airline. You must either be a national of the airline's country, or have the legal right to work in the airline's country or be able to obtain this.

1. Contact the airline for an application form. If you are on the Web, most airlines today put these up on their Web site, or give you details of how to apply on their site.
   
   
2. Others want you to phone for an application form - see Chapter 13 for telephone numbers of some of the more popular airlines.
   
   
3. Or you might have a preliminary interview by phone.
   

Whatever airlines ask for, make sure you provide exactly the information they require. For example, if asked for a full-length photo, DON'T send in head and shoulders only.

Fill in the application form very, very carefully, and keep a copy. If you make it through to the face-to-face interview, you will be quizzed on what you put on your form.

The interview

Before you go for your interview, remember, if you are turned down after the interview, always apply again. Many successful applicants were turned down on their first interview.

Training

This is taken extremely seriously once qualified, in the event of an accident it is you and your colleagues that day who will be responsible for the lives of those flying in 'your' aircraft. Normally training takes about four to six weeks, and covers:

• Health and safety procedures including administration ot first aid and oxygen, evacuation procedures, etc.
  
  
• Customer care.
  
  
• Pre-flight checks of catering and cabin supplies.
  
  
• In-flight service including food, drink and refreshments.
  
  
• On-board sales and accepting payments in various currencies and credit cards.
  
  
• Post-flight checks of on-board sales.
  
  
• Body language.
  
  
• Cultural awareness.
  
  
• Care of special needs and disabled passengers.
  
  
• Security duties.
  

You will be given talks about dealing with problems, from drunks to air rage. Anti-terrorism procedures bring stark reality into the classroom, but you have fun learning about grooming and looking after yourself.

You will be told about different passengers and how to look after them, which hand to use when serving food, tips for dealing with squalling babies, etc.

Don't even think about meeting friends or having a private life during training. You will be in classrooms from early in the morning until late at night, and then you have to revise into the small hours.

Preliminary training

Take the Air Cabin Crew Vocational Qualification course. Over 400 ex-trainees have been accepted by Air 2000, bmi, GO, Palmair European, Britannia, BA, Air France, Gulf Airlines, JMC, Ryan Air, JAL, etc. Linda Holt, cabin crew manager recruitment and training, of KLM UK says 'We are very supportive of the cabin crew VQ qualification. Several of our current cabin crew has achieved this qualification before joining the airline and it has been very beneficial to them. The course content is very relevant, and we support several colleges (Norwich City, Leeds, Lowestoft, and Bournemouth).'

Pat Egan of Pan Aviation Training Services helped set up this qualification, and says 'We have had 93 per cent achievement in our Air Cabin Crew VQ to date' with colleges from Carlisle to Portsmouth currently offering this VQ.

Case Study

Tessa started as a stewardess with Britannia Airways and then moved to the administration unit as ground staff.

'My stewardess job was my first since school. I got the job by applying to an ad in the paper. They required English GCSE and two others. After sending in an application with photo, I was called with several others for an interview. They talked to us individually about our family and social life and then gave us a simple math test. After that, they split us into small groups to work on an imaginary plan of campaign involving travel arrangements. If you pass all that and your weight and measurements are all right, you also have to take a medical before you are taken on as a trainee.'

In Tessa's case, the course was a six-week one that included first aid (with an exam) and training for emergencies and cabin sales before she 'got her wings'.